Home > Fox's Stirewalt: Immigration Reform Affecting Same Sex Couples And Their Children Is Simply A "Poison Pill" From Obama

Fox's Stirewalt: Immigration Reform Affecting Same Sex Couples And Their Children Is Simply A "Poison Pill" From Obama

Rush Limbaugh said[1] that "it's up to me and Fox News" to stop immigration reform. Fox News digital politics editor Chris Stirewalt appears to be answering the call, characterizing[2] possible provisions for same sex couples in immigration reform as a "poison pill" proposal from President Barack Obama as part of a campaign to "enrage the right, divide the GOP and set the table for a Democratic victory in 2014."

BuzzFeed reports[3] that the White House framework for immigration reform will include provisions for opening up green card eligibility for same sex couples. Heterosexual couples routinely have access to permanent resident visas via marriage, while same sex couples do not because the Defense of Marriage Act bars federal recognition of same sex marriages.

Stirewalt's column again spotlights the role of Fox and other elements of the conservative media in policing the Republican Party in order to prevent the passage of legislation alongside Democrats. President Obama discussed[4] this dynamic in an interview with The New Republic: "If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you'll see more of them doing it."

As Reuters reported[5], "There are at least 28,500 same-sex couples in the United States in which one partner is a U.S. citizen and the other is not, and 11,500 same-sex couples where neither partner is a U.S. citizen." By that measure, proposals on this issue would affect at least 80,000 people in a same sex relationship.

Immigration Equality, a pro-reform group, estimates[6] that 45% of these couples also have children, who of course would be directly affected by these immigration reforms.